Search - Christine Andreas :: Here's to the Ladies

Perhaps the best CD of the year

bert1761 | Washington, DC United States | 11/22/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I cannot recommend Christine Andreas's new CD more highly. It may well be my favorite CD of 2002 (and that is QUITE high praise in a year in which Audra McDonald came out with a new disc from someone who worships the water she walks on). "Here's to the Ladies" is simply astonishing.I will say that this disc takes a couple of listens to appreciate fully; not because there is anything wrong with it, but because it does create a bit of a disorienting experience, since some of the songs are performed very much "in character," while others reflect an interpretation that would not work in the context of the show from which the song comes. For example, I have never heard a more intoxicating and persuasive performance of "I Could Have Danced All Night," which clearly shows why Ms. Andreas's performance in a revival of "My Fair Lady" was such a success. On the other hand, I have never heard "Moonlight Lullaby" sung in a way that smolders with sex appeal as the one on this disc. While it is a fabulous and totally appropriate performance, it would not be one given by Annie Oakley. But listening to each song solely in the context of this disc, almost every one is a gem. (The only song I don't absolutely love is "Some People." This song is one that cannot be divorced from the character who sings it, and Ms. Andreas has to work too hard at it, and can't completely camouflage the fact that she, apparently, she is just too bright and good-natured a person ever to play Rose effectively.) And because of the uniform high quality of the performances, it is hard to have a favorite among them. Nevertheless, I will say that her renditions of two songs are darned near definitive. First, although Ms. Andreas has a voice that sounds much younger than Angela Lansbury's, she would make an outstanding Mame. Her "If He Walked into My Life" is breathtaking and heartbreaking. And her interpretation is profoundly moving even taken out of the specific context of the show; any mother, or for that matter anyone who has had a mother, can feel deeply the pain and insecurity of a person questioning the decisions, acts and omissions she made in parenting.Second, in "Will He Like Me?" Ms. Andreas seems to incorporate the best aspects of Barbara Cook's and Barbra Streisand's two different but equally affecting interpretations of this song but, nevertheless, produces something that is wholly her own and is very moving and involving.As you can see from just the few songs I've mentioned specifically, the material on this CD is rather diverse. And through it all, there is scarcely a note sung on this disc that is less than flat out gorgeous. If Ms. Andreas can only get a role with which she can get the kind of widespread attention and acclaim she deserves, she will certainly one day be one of "the ladies" on someone else's tribute disc.This CD has not been out of my player since I got it several weeks ago, and I can't imagine that anyone interested in this type of music would not be similarly enchanted by it."

Broadway Baby Shines in Tribute to Leading Ladies

bert1761 | 10/17/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It isn't very often that a performer is confident enough in her own talent to make an entire album containing previously-recorded tracks. Being compared to one's predecessors is always daunting, but imagine if those predecessors are Julie Andrews, Ethel Merman, Mary Martin, Gertrude Lawrence, Angela Lansbury, and Barbra Streisand? In this her second solo album, Ms. Andreas daringly takes her the listener back in time to Broadway's heyday when tunes like "Some People" and "Don't Rain on My Parade" were just being made famous by the beguilling leading ladies who were performing them. Ms. Andreas is every bit as beguilling as she displays an impressive range and a purity so rarely heard among today's more manufactured and forced performers. In contrast to Ms. Andreas' first solo album, the delightful "Love is Good", "Here's to the Ladies" is less romantic and more dramatic. Andreas enthusiastically belts out "I'm Flying" and "Some People" with the youthful zest of her early Broadway career when she starred in "Oklahoma" and "My Fair Lady." Speaking of "Fair Lady" I am willing to bet that she could still perform the role of Eliza on Broadway as well (if not beter) than she did in the late 1970's. However, I suspect that Ms. Andreas is setting her sights on different roles now, namely the title character in Jerry Herman's "Mame" which is scheduled tentatively to return to the Great White Way next year. Casting directors take note: Andreas has the depth, vocal clarity, enthusiasm, and demeanor to make the role all her own. Her "Mame" selections emerge as perhaps the album's finest offering. In fact, "My Best Beau/If He Walked into my Life" would be the hands-down favorite of this reviewer if only "My Ship" wasn't lurking at the end of the album. This song is elegant, poignent, and perfect fit for Ms. Andreas' lush and intimate style. There is one problem with this album: It's so good, how can she possibly top it with her next release?!"

Cheers to the Ladies....

S. Fessa | Athens, Greece | 03/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one CD every broadway lover should have. Ms. Andreas interpretation of each song is amazing, fresh and vibrant! The making of this cd was a job well done! Bravo!"